"Leibnizian Expression,"

Journal of the History of Philosophy, 33 (1995); 65-99.

Leibniz's notion of expression figures prominently in his accounts of a number of phenomena, including perspectival projections, sensory ideas, linguistic representation, and the pre-established harmony of the monads. He views it as a very special sort of representation, but its exact nature is not clear. I first provide an account of expression in Leibniz's most frequent illustration of the notion, the perspectival projection of a geometrical figure onto a plane, then generalize it slightly to fit his general account. This interpretation also helps explain Leibniz's views about the role of expression in human reasoning. I conclude by showing how my account fits each of Leibniz's central examples of expression.

Other papers in the history of philosophy

  1. ``Leibniz on Intension and Extension,'' Noûs, 29, (1995); 96--114. [Abstract]
  2. ``Leibniz's Calculus of Real Addition,'' Studia Leibnitiana, 26 (1994); 1-30. [Abstract]
  3. ``Kantian Derivations,'' Canadian Journal of Philosophy, 13 (1983); 409-432. [Abstract]
  4. ``Hume and the Three Views of the Self,'' Hume Studies, 8 (1982); 43-61. [Abstract]
  5. "C. I. Lewis's Calculus of Predicates," History and Philosophy of Logic, 16, 1995; 19-37 [Abstract]

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